Falcons Offseason Drama is Nothing Compared to ‘Deion Watch’

As minicamp wrapped this week, a fellow media member jokingly mentioned that the past two days had resembled a "mini circus," largely due to the parade of ongoing speculation about the quarterback position.

It made me flashback to what truly was a spectacle of epic proportions. Rewind things to the summer of 1989. Long before he became “Coach Prime” or even "Prime Time," Deion Sanders simply had "No Time" for the Falcons 36 years ago, having been fully immersed in a bitter contract dispute. Selected 5th overall, Deion was perfectly content holding out and standing his ground. The front office originally offered 400k, but Deion demanded 11 million.

At the time, the Falcons were reeling with tragedy of a different kind off of the gridiron. Losing games was the least of their issues as during stretches of 88' & 89', they had lost a trio of players to tragic endings. Ralph Norwood and Brad Beckman had been killed in separate car accidents, and David Croudip died from a cocaine overdose. Deion was so dismayed that he went and played baseball for the NY Yankees. The Yankees had struggles of their own, most notably dropping 11 of 12 contests that 89' season to the eventual A.L. East Champion Toronto Bluejays who'd win the division. The Yankees finished in 5th place. Deion was called up late and showed some flashes of promise in the outfield, even hitting a pair of home runs during 14 games. It appeared that football was the furthest thing from his mind.